Attitudes Toward Suicide and Suicidal Risk Among Younger and Older Persons

The present study examined attitudes toward suicide & suicidal risk among 96 younger & 79 older adults. Participants completed the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire & the Suicide Risk Scale. Regarding attitudes, older adults scored significantly higher than younger adults on 7 of 15 subscales, indicating that for older adults, suicide was more acceptable, more strongly related to a lack of religious conviction, more lethal, more normal, more irreversible, or permanent, more strongly related to demographics, & more strongly related to individual aspects. Implications are discussed. (14 refs)